Resuming training after a long break can cause some problems and apparently this issue can be quite pressing.
Actually, there can’t be any problems here; obviously, it’s more about laziness, which must be overcome. After all, resuming any kind of physical activity is much easier than starting from scratch. And this is especially true of running.
Going out for a run after even a six-month break, if it wasn’t due to a serious injury that severely affects the musculoskeletal system, is like working out after a regular weekend.
Unlike beginner runners, you do not need to learn all the nuances, such as nutrition or technique. In addition, you know the basics of safety and the rules for increasing your workload, your heart rate zones and average running pace, you understand the importance of warm-ups, and you are familiar with the basics of biomechanics.
So what’s stopping you from wearing sneakers? Of course, it’s a matter of laziness. The only good way to counteract laziness when all kinds of personal motivation don’t work is to physically remember the body’s state of being in active training mode and to experience again the pleasure of free long-distance running, including a post-workout psychological state that doesn’t give a single chance for worldly stress to take over the mind.
The main disadvantage of long breaks is the inability to immediately fill your backpack with energy gels and bananas, pour water or isotonics into a hydrator, and take an ultrarun. Unfortunately, getting back to your previous fitness level is a long process, a lot like a beginner’s first kilometers. And then you know all about safety, right?
The body gets stronger, stronger and faster not during training, but during recovery. However, two days off are, in my opinion, the maximum break between workouts. Especially if we are not talking about resting after difficult races, whether they are supertrails or half on the result. A further break gradually begins to reduce the body’s adaptation to the workload and overall level of training. So a six-month break from running threatens to put you back down to beginner level.
But the good news is that, in fact, the body’s memory of its former capabilities is not erased. Also, the condition of the cardiovascular system and tissues is not disturbed, if you have not gone to all the trouble. The process of returning to them is incomparably faster than preparing from scratch. There is a kind of reboot.
So, the only thing left for you to do is to get your equipment and go outside. Or better yet, into the woods. This will instantly improve your mood and well-being.
If your total experience of running was small, it is desirable that the Sun shines on the first days. And if you have run more than one marathon in the past, you can go out in any weather: even a cold downpour will not prevent you quickly remember all the advantages of regular training.
For women as additional motivation works great option with the purchase of beautiful running clothes or a new gadget, watching friends’ workouts on Strava or weighing on the scales. However, for men, these options are also suitable.
